Three agencies have been invited to pitch against the incumbent,
Leo Burnett, for Mercedes’ pounds 9 million media buying account. John
Ayling & Associates, the CIA-owned Negotiation Centre and Mediapolis
will fight it out within the next two weeks. Planning will be handled by
the new Media Science joint venture between the creative incumbent,
Partners BDDH, and New PHD.
Royal & SunAlliance has appointed Universal McCann on a project basis to
handle the media planning and buying for its corporate brand advertising
campaign which begins in the autumn. However, the insurance company is
holding off from appointing a permanent media agency until next year.
Universal’s sister agency, McCann-Erickson, was appointed on a project
basis in August to handle the creative campaign.
Mills & Allen, the poster contractor which is part of the Havas media
empire, has shaken up its senior management in a reshuffle where M&A’s
UK chief executive, Colm O’Cuilleanain, takes up a senior post at the
company’s Paris headquarters. Philip Santini, the former UK chief
executive who moved to M&A in Paris in 1994, has left the company.
The copywriter, John Elsom, and his art director, Ken Sara, have been
axed by McCann-Erickson. The senior team had resigned from Mellors Reay
& Partners in January to rejoin Gary Betts and Malcolm Green, who had
left Mellors Reay to take charge of the McCanns creative department.
Betts and Green left McCanns in August to make way for Mike Court’s
arrival as creative director.
Western International has appointed a new marketing manager, Elly
McDonald, to work on new business, as well as brand position-ing and
profile. McDonald worked on the Institute of Practitioners in
Advertising’s advertising effectiveness initiative between 1994 and
1995, and was most recently in charge of new business at Maher Bird
Associates.
McCann-Erickson Manchester has won the pounds 4 million task of helping
to reposition Bass Taverns’ 120 Toby Restaurants around the UK. The
Birmingham-based restaurant chain has confined much of its advertising
to date to promotions in the local press and on radio, but it now
intends to take a more concerted look at its branding.
Equity, the actors’ union, is considering approaches to major TV
advertisers and agencies to urge them to help settle the dispute over
voiceovers, which has led to a boycott of commercials work by Equity
members. The union claims to have a long list of big-name artists who
are backing the ban.
Carlsberg-Tetley is understood to have approached the Advertising Agency
Register to help with the rethink of its advertising for Tetley bitter.
The account is held by Saatchi & Saatchi.
Rapture, the cable channel for teenagers which launches at the end of
November, is planning a launch campaign and is understood to be
searching for an agency and a media buying company to handle the
account, which is expected to top pounds 1 million.
ITV is to announce its new marketing director before the end of the
month. The chosen candidate is understood to have a strong fmcg
background, but ITV executives are remaining tight-lipped about his or
her identity.
Two Way TV, the interactive game system, has cut drastically its planned
pounds 20 million adspend, handled by Saatchi & Saatchi and Optimedia,
as it develops plans to work with digital broadcasters. The company’s
marketing director, Peter Cowie, a former client services director at
WCRS, is now looking for another job.
CDP has picked up the advertising task for Hampton Court Palace and
retained the Tower of London business following a seven-way review.
Media on the business, which is worth around pounds 1.2 million, remains
undecided.
